I Never Imagined Myself Here
by RMNicki
Summary: When Jules finds herself in an abusive relationship with a man she thought she could trust (not with Sam)... what does she do next? Love It, Like it, Rate it, Review it!
1. The First Time

Steve and I had been dating for about 5 months, kind of, there was someone I would have much rather have been with, Steve had moved in temporarily while his house was being renovated, I had been a little resistant to the idea for a little while, but when I saw how unlivable his house seemed, I finally succumbed, and agreed.

I walked in the door, trying to stay as quiet as possible figuring that Steve was up in his room asleep, it was about 11 p.m. Shift had run late today, and Ed had offered to take us all out to wind down, I jumped, and nearly pulled a gun on Steve, when I turned the light on in the living room and saw him sitting there.

"Steve…" I whispered confused, but then I saw the anger in his eyes. "Is everything okay?" I walked closer to him keeping my guard up, and that's when I smelled the alcohol.

"No. Everything isn't okay, Julianna." He said, he was obviously intoxicated, so I kept about 2 feet between us as a precaution. "Where have you been?" He asked.

"Work." I replied carefully, "Shift ran late." I left out that I had went out with the guys after shift had ended, my gut feeling told me I shouldn't mention it.

"You're lying." He growled, standing and taking a step towards me, I didn't take a step back, knowing I could easily take him, "I called when you didn't come home, and they said shift ended an hour and half ago. You were with them." He said, acidly

"Them?" I asked incredulously, having a pretty good idea of who he was talking about.

"What!? You think I don't see the way some of them look at you!?" He said loudly.

"First of all, Steve, they are my team." I said, keeping my voice calm to hide my anger, but I couldn't help but say sarcastically, "I didn't realize I had to check in with you."

I wasn't expecting it when he stepped forward and hit me across the side of my face hard enough that my mind went fuzzy for a few seconds, "Oh my God, Jules! I'm so sorry!" I heard, then it was black, he must have hit me hard enough to knock me out, when I woke up, it took me a few seconds to get my bearings, I was...in my bed. I looked at the clock, I had been out of it for about 2 hours. Had it all been a dream? I touched the side of my face and was rewarded with a sharp pain, "Ow…" I whispered, nope, not a dream. I turned on the lamp, and shielded my eyes when the bright light made my head throb worse, when my eyes finally adjusted, I looked around for Steve just in case, but he wasn't in there, but what I did see was a note and a glass of water on my bedside table.

I need to go kick him out, now. The thought ran through my head. But, my curiosity got the best of me, and I picked up the note, it read:

_Julianna,_

_No words could express how sorry I am. I have never done anything even remotely similar to that before, and I am so, so sorry. That was not me, and I don't know where that anger came from, I would do anything to take it back, anything at all, but I understand if you never want to talk to me again. I will understand if you wake up and decide to come over now and kick me out, I am already packed, and will be expecting it if you decide to, but the absolute most I can ask as of now after what I have done is that you don't report me, because the consequences of that will be me losing my job, and this is the only job I have, it's like yours, if I lose it, I won't get it back. But, I will understand if you do. Please, Julianna, as your friend, I beg that you give me your forgiveness; I promise this will never happen again. I am so sorry. _

_-Steve_

I walked over to his room, my full intent being, kicking him out of my house, for good. I was not going to take being hit. But, something in me changed when I saw him lying there on the bed, one of his legs hanging off the side of the mattress, his face peaceful as he slept, I couldn't wake him, I would wait until the morning, I told myself, then I went back to my room, and took the advil he had laid on my bedside table with the note, when he had carried me in here, I walked into the bathroom, and daringly took a look at the side of my face, there was an ugly bruise forming to the right of my right eye, luckily my eye wasn't swollen, this would still be hard to hide though.

When I woke in the morning, my head was throbbing, I took advil to try to relieve some of the pressure on my brain, I looked in the mirror after a few minutes, trying to recollect what had happened last night, and when I did the sight wasn't the best. The upper side of my right cheek and up to my temple was a black and blue bruise. I sighed, I could try as hard as I wanted to, my makeup wasn't going to cover this, and even if it did, sometime during the day it would wear away. I put on the same amount of makeup I always did, dabbing it a bit more heavily on the wounded area. My face still looked pretty badly bruised, but it looked…better.

I walked down the stairs, and prepared myself to see Steve, but he wasn't there. But on the table was a vase of flowers, and a little stuffed animal, and yet another note. I picked up the half folded piece of paper,

_Julianna,_

_I'm sorry I am not here to talk to you this morning. I was called in early, but I will be here tonight, because I'm sure you want to talk to me…or yell at me. _

_Again, I am so sorry_

_-Steve_


	2. Who In Hell Did This To You?

_I walked down the stairs, and prepared myself to see Steve, but he wasn't there. But on the table was a vase of flowers, _

_and a little stuffed animal, and yet another note. I picked up the half folded piece of paper,_

_Julianna,_

_I'm sorry I am not here to talk to you this morning. I was called in early, but I will be here tonight, because I'm sure you want to talk to me…or yell at me._

_Again, I am so sorry._

_ -Steve_

~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~FP~*~*~*~*~

I closed my eyes, and dropped the piece of paper, why in hell was I second guessing my decision. This man had hit me.

Everybody makes mistakes…

I swallowed, knowing this was not a smart decision, but I told myself, I needed to know for sure before I jumped to conclusions. I was going to give him one more chance. Just one. I opened my eyes, and realized, I was already 15 minutes late,

"Damnit." I cursed, I grabbed a granola bar and got in my car, checking my face one more time, before I entered the building. I took a deep breath and walked in, Boss and Ed were at the front desk talking to Winnie, I tried to get to my locker room without them noticing me, but it didn't work.

"Jules!" Ed said. Shit. I turned and faced them as they walked towards me, preparing to lie to two men who were good at detecting when they were being deceived.

"Jules…" Boss said when he caught a glimpse of my face.

"What happened?" Ed asked sternly taking my chin in his hand, and forcing me to look up at him.

"Don't laugh…" I said, inconspicuously pulling away from Ed, I tried to breathe through the tightness in my chest, "Uhm, on the way home last night, I almost hit a dog, so I stomped on the break, and ended up hitting my face on the steering wheel." They didn't say anything for a few seconds, and I was afraid they had detected my lie, then they both started laughing, I hid my relief, and smiled, "You guys suck." I said, and walked away, I could still hear them laughing behind me when I shut the locker room door, I breathed out, not realizing I had been holding my breath. I leaned against the wall, and tear slid down my cheek, I wiped at it furiously, I was not going to cry. But, I absolutely hated lying to them. They were my family. I pushed that thought away and got ready. When, I walked into the briefing room, Spike, Sam, and Wordy looked at me, "So it's true!" Spike said, I flipped him off, and that made everyone laugh.

That night, Steve made dinner, and did everything other than beg on his knees. When, I told him my decision, he was ecstatic, and he took full advantage of his second chance, and didn't try anything again…well until a month later.

I never imagined myself in this spot before. I stared at my body in the mirror, wearing nothing but my undergarments, I could see the bruises on my stomach, the hand marks on my arms, another bruise across my back, this time my lip was split. Who was I? Steve had not touched me violently for a month, then when he did again, he didn't stop after one swing, and yet, here I was another month later, staring at my battered body in the mirror, wondering why I hadn't stopped this, who was I anymore? Why hadn't I done something? I wanted so badly to be able to handle this on my own, but every time I tried to kick him out, the words would catch in my throat the moment I saw him.

This has to end, Jules. I said to myself. I took a deep breath, and pulled on jeans, a shirt, a jacket, and wrapped a scarf around my throat, deciding to not cover the bruises on my throat with make up this time. I didn't look in the mirror again, afraid I would talk myself out of my latest decision.

I couldn't do this alone anymore.

I took a deep breath and didn't allow myself to think as I walked through the doors to the SRU. I asked Winnie where the team was and she told me in the briefing room, I didn't answer her question about me being okay as I walked through the door, Boss stopped what he was saying and looked at me, along with the rest of the team, they must have realized something was off,

"What happened?!" Boss asked skeptically, I tried to suck enough air into my lungs to answer, I could feel the tears pooling in my eyes, and I tried to blink them back, but they wouldn't go away, instead one, spilled over and ran down my cheek, "Jules…" Sam said, as he and Ed stood, boss went behind me to the door, and gave an order to Winnie, to send the other teams on any hot calls, until he cleared it, then I heard the door shutting behind me.

"What's going on Jules?" Ed asked.

My breathing sped up, but I tried to keep my heart rate normal, I closed my eyes, and took a shaky breath,

"I need your guys' help…" I whispered, my voice wavering slightly, as I unwrapped the scarf around my neck. There was complete silence for a few seconds.

"What the hell." Wordy said, as they walked towards me,

"Those are hand marks." Spike whispered, as Greg tilted my chin up getting a good look at my throat.

"Who did this to you?" Sam asked angrily.

I summoned all the courage I could into my voice, but there wasn't much, "Steve."

"Son of a bitch." Greg said, angrily, hitting his hand on the table, after a few seconds, I flinched, He's not mad at me. I told myself, I knew it was true, but for some reason, I was afraid he was.

"Are there more, Jules?" Wordy asked,

"Jules…" Ed said, a tone of warning to his voice, he must have seen it on my face that I was debating whether or not to answer truthfully.

"Yeah, yeah there's more."

"Take the jacket off Jules." Boss said. I looked up at him, and swallowed nervously, about to refuse, "That's an order." He said, sternly. I hesitated but then gently pulled off my jacket, and Sam took it from me. Boss touched my elbow, pulling my arm towards him, looking at the dark bruises on my upper arms from Steve's hands, and another bruise, and a cut over the top of my forearm, it hadn't been deep enough to need stitches, but it still looked pretty bad.

Boss opened the door,

"Winnie, get some Unis to go and pick up Steve at the hospital for a domestic abuse charge."

"Got it, boss!" She said.

"No!" I gasped, "Don't Sarge, you can't!" I said, not knowing what I was intending to do, I tried to get to Winnie's desk, before she could make the call, but Sam caught me around the waist, my mind was foggy as I tried to break free of his hold, "Stop, Jules, stop." He said, he wrapped his arms around mine, giving me no way out of his hold. Boss, closed the door again. I went limp in Sam's arms and tears ran down my cheeks, he let me go, and I wiped at them furiously.

"I just ruined him!" I said, "I could have stopped this the first time he ever hit me."

"Are you really going to blame yourself for this?" Spike asked.

"He shouldn't have any job even as remotely good as that if he's going to be putting women into ambulances, he works in." Wordy said.

I looked down, "I don't know why I let this happen." I said, feeling a little more like myself every few minutes.

"Did he do anything else, Jules?" Sam asked, my chest constricted again, they all watched me carefully, knowing I knew exactly what he was asking….

~*~*~Oh God…did Steve!?~*~*~

CLIIFF HANGER! Sorry my lovely readers!(:


	3. Never again, Jules

I flinched, and swallowed, that first night, the first time, he had ever hit me…I was so shocked that…that I had been taken advantage of. I hated myself for it at the time. The weakness that had condemned me.  
"No." I replied,  
I could feel them searching my face,  
"Don't lie to us, Jules." Ed said sternly, then softly, "Answer me truthfully, did he rape you?"  
I closed my eyes and refused to let the tears fall,  
"Yes. Once. The first night he ever hit me."  
I heard a loud bang and couldn't help my flinch. Sam had hit a table,  
"I could kill him." Wordy growled.

"Guys…" I said, giving them all a small smile,  
"I'm okay," At their look, I sighed, "I'll _be_ okay."  
Sarge smiled, "We know."  
"For now…I'd really appreciate it…if you didn't treat me any different than you did before. I'm still the same person…" I said gaining some of my confidence back, "And if it was legal, I'd kick his ass too."  
"That's our girl." Spike said, and I chuckled.  
I could practically feel the breath of relief in the room.

"This is not going to happen again, is it?" Ed said warningly,

"No. It won't." I said confidently.

I caught Sam's eyes, and looked away quickly…I wasn't sure how he was going to handle this…  
~*~*~*~

I sat in my living room, I lay on the couch, exhausted from everything that had happened today, I heard a motor outside, and I knew exactly who was coming to my door.

When he knocked, I stayed silent and didn't answer, I heard the clicking noises, and I groaned as my door opened,

"Nice try." He said relocking the door, then walking over to me. I stayed, lying on the couch,

"Pretty sure that's breaking and entering." I sighed.

"I wouldn't argue with you on that." He replied.

He took my arm in his hand, and began to pull me up,

"Sam…" I moaned in protest, but didn't bother fighting him, he wrapped his arm around my waist, and I gasped in pain, as he pulled me up. He stood me in front of him.

"Where else are you hurt?" He asked.

"I'm fine Sam." I replied_…No you're not_. My mind whispered.

"Jules." He said sternly, "Where else are you hurt, don't make me strip you down."

I pursed my lips stubbornly, challenging him…he'd seen me before, but would he really do it?

He reached forward, surprisingly fast, and yanked down on my strapless dress, I squeaked in protest as it dropped to the ground.

"Jules…" He whispered, and I knew he was looking at the bruises on my body, I reached for the couch blanket.

"No." He said, turning my back towards him. He didn't stay staring at my body the way I thought he would, instead he did a small examination, not saying a word, then he sat on the couch and pulled me down and surprised me by pulling me into his lap, normally I would have protested and tried to fight him off. But, this time, I wanted the comfort, and I relished in it, curling into his embrace. His chin rested on the top of my head.

"He's never going to hurt you again, Jules. Never."

He pulled the blanket out from behind us and pulled it over us, covering me, and suddenly I was exhausted. He held me tightly in his arms,

"Maybe i…You should…" I didn't get the time to say what I was going to before the darkness consumed me.

~*FP*~SAM P.O.V~*FP*~

I held Jules in my arms, it was amazing to have her warm soft body, resting against mine, I turned the T.V and laid back against the couch, and settled in to let her sleep.

"Never again, Jules." I whispered, kissing her head.

THE END!


	4. Continuation

~*~*~*~  
Continuation...  
Okay, so this really isn't smart of me considering I have 3 other stories going right now. But I have been inboxed a few times by people who would like me to continue with this story.  
Your wish is my command!  
Although I can't promise the chapters will come as fast as they did before. I will continue with,  
'I Never Imagined Myself Here.'  
Because honestly, you guys are right, it was cruel to end there.  
(; So be looking for update.  
It will most likely come soon!  
Thanks for reading, please review!  
~*~*~*~


	5. Being Watched

~*~*~  
Alright, so here's the next chapter that I promised, sorry you guys had to wait! Hope you enjoy! ;)

Review of Last Chapter:  
"He's never going to hurt you again, Jules. Never."

He pulled the blanket out from behind us and pulled it over us, covering me, and suddenly I was exhausted. He held me tightly in his arms,

"Maybe i…You should…" I didn't get the time to say what I was going to before the darkness consumed me.

~*FP*~SAM P.O.V~*FP*~

I held Jules in my arms, it was amazing to have her warm soft body, resting against mine, I turned the T.V and laid back against the couch, and settled in to let her sleep.

"Never again, Jules." I whispered, kissing her head.  
~*~*~

-Sam's P.O.V still-

Jules lay in my arms sleeping and I watched her chest move up and down as she breathed in and out, and it comforted me like nothing else. To know that she was alright, and well…_living._ It still scared the hell out of me sometimes to be effected so much by someone, even Jules. No one in my life had ever effected me the way she did, even from the beginning. There was just something about her… I lay my head back and closed my eyes and before I knew it, fell asleep. In the morning, I felt her stir, and for second adrenaline pumped through me before I remembered that today was our day off. She murmured something in her sleep, and her eyes opened, I looked over to the clock, it was 3am. She sat up for a second, and looked back at me, sleepiness still in her eyes.  
Before she could wake anymore, I slipped my arms beneath her, and she didn't offer much resistance as I lifted her into my arms, careful to avoid her injuries.  
She lay her head against my shoulder and she sighed as I carried her up to her room. I lay her in her bed, and she was asleep in seconds. I pulled her blankets over her and she curled up under them. I had almost never seen Jules as vulnerable as she was when she was asleep. I heard my phone down stairs and left her room, to get to it in time to answer.  
Sarge's name flashed across the screen,  
"Hello?" I asked.  
"Sam." Sarge said, "They didn't make the arrest on Steve tonight."  
"_What?" _ I asked.  
"I know." He replied, "They couldn't find him. He must have heard we were looking for him, because he's gone. I want you to-" He sighed, almost as if he was struggling to say something, "I want you to watch over Jules."  
I didn't want to lie to him, "I could drive over there tonight, but I don't see her being too happy to see me though."  
"Nice try, Sam. I know _exactly_ where you are."  
I was shocked but only for a second, before I sighed,  
"How did you know?" I asked.  
"I didn't. You just told me."  
I kicked myself internally, "Right." I sighed.  
"Just be careful alright. We don't know what Steve is capable of, and I don't want Jules to be at risk because of it."  
I nodded, then realized, I needed to answer out-loud, "Got it, Sarge."  
"Sam." He said,  
"Yes?" I asked.  
"You don't need to call me Sarge, not outside the station."  
"Alright." I replied.  
"Be careful Sam. Just because it's her that's at risk, doesn't mean you aren't too."  
"Got it…Greg." I said, I heard him laugh on the other end of the line,  
"Bye Sam." Then the click of the phone being hung up.  
I sighed, and did the same. Addressing him without his formal title would be hard…it went against how I was raised, but I was willing to try to do as he asked.

I jumped and nearly struck the person behind me as I felt arms wrap around my waist, but then I recognized the familiar arms.  
"Geezus Jules." I said, "You scared the hell out of me, why aren't you sleeping?"  
She let me turn, "I didn't give you permission to leave." She said, looking up at me with her mesmerizing brown eyes.  
I laughed, "Yes ma'am!"  
She looked at me, for a second, then took my hand and pulled me up stairs. Once, we were in her room she pushed me to the edge of the bed, and she sat down.  
I followed in suit, "What's wrong?" She asked.  
"What do you mean?" I asked.  
"You know what I mean. Something's wrong. You were on the phone, and now you're acting different."  
I sighed, and nodded. She put her hands to my shoulders and forced me down into a laying position,  
"What is it?" She asked.  
I sighed, "Steve. They didn't find him earlier today when they went to arrest him."  
I saw fear in her eyes, before she was able to hide it, and grabbed her arms above her elbows and threw her backwards so that her back hit the bed. I straddled her hips, and pinned her hands on either side of her head.  
"He is _not_ going to hurt you. Not again."  
"Let me up." She said, protesting her lack of movement, and refusing to meet my eyes.  
I didn't need to be a negotiator to know she was shutting down, and/or shaming herself.  
"No." I replied, much to her shock, I tightened my grip on her. She met my eyes,  
"Sam…" She said.  
"You're shutting me out, and I'm not going to let you do it." I replied.  
She frowned at me, "This is harassment."  
I move so that my nose was nearly touching hers,  
"I don't care. You're not going to shame yourself for what happened with him. Not if I have any say in it."  
This time she shocked me, and leaned up and pressed her lips to mine, my grip weakened, and she took that opportune moment and moved out from underneath me, escaping my grasp. But I caught her around her waist as she moved to stand from the bed and threw her back to the mattress, before she could fight me, pinning her once more. I watched her face carefully to make sure I hadn't hurt her. I was pretty sure I wouldn't before hand because of the mattress and comforter and she didn't show any signs that it had caused her any pain. She just looked up at me defeated,  
"Nice try." I said.  
"Jerk." She replied, but a small smile danced at her lips and her earlier shame seemed to have left her eyes.  
"Tell me you don't blame yourself." I said.  
She frowned, and didn't answer.  
"Jules." I sighed, and she closed her eyes and a tear ran down her cheek. I leaned down and kissed it away and she gave me another small smile when I pulled back.  
"I don't blame myself." She whispered and I relaxed with relief, "I just want to kill him." She finished and I laughed,  
"I do to, believe me. But, I'd rather he spend how ever many years in jail first, rather than we let him out the easy way and serve jail-time ourselves."  
"Good point." She replied, and I rolled off of her and lay beside her. She curled into my side once more, and we lay there silently and soon her breath evened out once more. I pulled the blanket at the end of the bed over us and wrapped my arms around her.  
"Good night, Jules." I said gently, refusing to acknowledge the anxiety I felt over the feeling… that we were being watched.

Hope you enjoyed!  
Love it, like it, rate it, review it! ;)


	6. Burn

**_~*~*~_**  
**_So here you go guys, hope you enjoy this chapter!_**

**_Review of Last Chapter:_**  
**_Sam P.O.V_**  
**_I rolled off of her and lay beside her. She curled into my side once more, and we lay there silently and soon her breath evened out once more. I pulled the blanket at the end of the bed over us and wrapped my arms around her. "Good night, Jules." I said gently, refusing to acknowledge the anxiety I felt over the feeling… that we were being watched._**  
**_~*~*~_**

_Steve P.O.V_

It sickened me to see Jules. _My_ Jules with that bastard. He was no good for her. _I_ was. She was _mine_.  
I didn't understand why she went to that damned team about _our_ relationship. What I did was _good_ for her. Julianna Callaghan was a loose cannon, and she needed someone to reign her in. Someone that could control her and keep her safe. That someone was me, not that fucker, _Sam_.  
Sam Braddock claimed to love her. But, it seemed the people that he said he 'loved' always died. His little sister, his so-called friend in the battlefield…  
When you care for someone, you don't blow them to pieces with a goddamn rifle. You do everything you can to protect them, and show them you love them, which is exactly what I did for Julianna.

Yes, I hit her, I put my _mark_ on her, showed her that she was mine, and there was nothing wrong with that. If anything it should have been reassuring to her.  
And, she stabbed me in the back, after everything I'd done for her, she threw me to the curb. She ran and cried wolf to her 'precious' team. Most likely told them some distorted version of what actually happened. I heard the news. They claimed I had beat her. With no reason.  
_I hadn't_. I hadn't beat her, ever. I punished her when she deserved it and when she needed to be put back in line. She was mine! She was finally beginning to bend to my will, which was how it was supposed to be. Women were below men. It was just the way life had been created. A woman should always obey her significant other. Women were lower than men and needed protection. They weren't capable the way men were.  
It didn't make sense to me how Jules had even made Team One of the SRU. But, I knew, I _knew_ there has to have been catch. She probably slept with the sergeant. I bet that's what happened. She used her looks and charmed her way onto the team, and managed to get away with it.

That infuriated me. Jules was mine, and no one else's. And by sleeping with that _Sam_, she was whoring herself out…

And, if I couldn't have her no one could.

I watched as that Sam kissed her, made love to her. _Held_ her while she slept. That was my place, I _should _ be holding her, not that excuse for a man.  
That was when I had had enough.  
I wired the footage to my phone from the cameras I had installed in her home and drove to her residence in an inconspicuous black car that would be cloaked by the darkness.

I waited on the side of the road, seething. I waited until the lights in Jules's room turned out, and one more hour so that I was sure they were both asleep.

It was time.

Jules P.O.V  
I heard a tap outside of my bedroom door, and sat up.  
"Sam…what-what was that?" I asked, I looked towards the door, and saw a loom of white smoke evaporating into the air. Sam sat up immediately.  
"What the, the…hell?" He said, his voice dropping off slightly, as the smoke reached him first.  
Exhaustion swept through my body, even though I tried to hold my breath. I tried to move to stand, but my muscles protested as they relaxed against my will.  
"No…" I whispered, as my eyes rolled back into my head, and I fell back to the bed, and into a deep darkness.

…  
Sam P.O.V  
I smelled an intense odor, and with a training I had experienced going through the military, I fought through the fatigue and forced my eyes open. I crawled out of the bed and hit the ground, hard enough to knock the breath out of me, shaking me to a more conscious state. I saw what had caused the problem and grabbed a glass of water off of the nightstand. I moved ever so slowly over to the door, and dumped the water, over the small contraption releasing the incapacitating smoke into the air.  
It distinguished after a few seconds. I propped my arm on the ground and slowly the air cleared.  
But, even then, I still smelled smoke.  
I saw that the smoke was creeping in through the crack underneath the door.  
I touched the door knob and saw that it wasn't too hot. I held my breath and opened it slowly, and when I was reassured the air wasn't being sucked out the door, I opened it more, and saw what looked like a small plastic box outside the door, and a red-orange glow down the hallway.  
The house was on fire, and something outside Jules's bedroom door was rigged to blow.  
Whoever had been here, had intent to kill.  
It was then that I realized that the smoke that had spread throughout the room moments before had been an airborne anesthetic that had rendered us both, unconscious.  
_Steve._  
"_Shit." _ I exclaimed, snapping back to the present, focusing on the make-shift bomb in front of me . Although it was a home-made concoction, I had a pretty good idea of what the purpose of it was. I jumped up as adrenaline pulsed through me. I had to get Jules out of here.  
I grabbed my shirt off the ground, and ran to the bathroom, dousing it in water, before running back to her.  
"Sorry Jules." I said more to myself than anything. I pressed it over her mouth and nose, cutting off her air way.  
After about 10 seconds, her eyes opened, wide, and she struggled against me, grabbing my arm.  
"Easy, easy." I said, then coughed, the smoke was becoming thick.  
I pulled her up,  
"What?" She asked, in shock.  
"The house is on fire. We need to get out of here. There's a bomb outside the door."  
Her eyes widened, and she nodded, without asking questions, and we moved towards the window.  
She moved towards the window with me quickly, moving into a more clear-minded state. The way our occupations had trained us to do.  
I heard a sizzling outside the door, and knew we wouldn't make it out in time.  
I grabbed her and yanked her to the ground with me, and fire flashed over us as the thing that had been set up outside the door exploded, I covered her the best I could in the short amount of time we had as we hit the floor.

I felt searing pain flow over the back of my left shoulder, and I heard a pained scream from Jules as it lashed over us.  
I heard the windows shatter a few feet from us, and I covered our heads with my arm.  
"THEY'RE HERE!" I heard above us. Then, I felt strong arms wrap around my torso and pull me up.  
"Jules…" I choked.  
"We've got her, sir." A strong voice said, and I stood and stepped out the window onto a fireman's ladder, choking on the thick, smoky air. A second fire-man led me down.  
"He's burned. Have medics ready." I heard the man say and the agonizing pain in my shoulder registered in my mind, but I ignored it until I saw that Jules was out of the house. The fireman wrapped his arm around her as he helped her out of the burning building.  
I could see through the smoke and saw that she was covering her now bare chest, and saw that the middle of her bra had been burned to the point to where it had become useless.  
Her skin was burned between her breasts and up over her shoulder.  
"Sir, we need to get you treated." A medic said, tugging at my arm, and I succumbed, and followed him over to a gurney. Jules was safe and in good hands, I knew as they led her over to the other ambulance.  
I felt a sting in my arm and saw that the medic had given me some sort of shot.  
A peaceful numbness spread throughout me, and extinguished the burn in the back of my shoulder enough that I could think coherently.  
"Keep this on." The medic ordered, pressing an oxygen mask over my face.  
The medics shut the doors to the ambulance Jules was in.  
I pulled the mask away, "Is she going to be alright?" I asked the medic…  
~*~*~

Jules P,O.V

Things seemed to be in slow motion as soon as I was out of my home.  
My burning home.  
Everything I owned, all of my personal possessions…they were all gone. All charred and burned. Tears filled my eyes, and the medic seemed to notice,  
"We're going to take your pain away ma'am." He said and pressed a needle into my arm.  
"Is-is he alright?" I asked, nodding to the Sam about 20 feet away, the medic nodded,  
"We're going to shut the doors." He said, I nearly protested,  
"If we don't ma'am, these firefighters will be getting a few of you half naked." He said,  
I took me a moment, but I then realized that Sam and I had been rescued in nearly no clothing. I was simply in a bra and panties and he had only been in a pair of boxers.  
I smiled slightly, blushing, and nodded, and he shut the doors. He carefully removed the charred fabric of my bra from my breasts.  
Tears actually filled my eyes when the fiery pain spread throughout my chest and shoulder as he removed it from the 2nd degree burns.  
The other medic pressed an oxygen mask over my mouth and nose,  
"Take a deep breath." She instructed, and I did as she said, breathing through the pain.  
After a few, painful minutes, they had rubbed a numbing cream across the burn and wrapped a thick gauze around it to protect it from infection, taping it to my skin.  
"Can I see him?" I asked, pulling the oxygen mask away from my face, and coughed for a second. The medic seemed conflicted for a moment.  
"Please?" I asked, and he sighed. "Alright."  
There was a knock on the ambulance door,  
"Michael they have some visitors." I heard, and had a pretty good idea of who _the visitors _were.  
The medic grabbed a pair of scrub pants, and helped me to strip down and slide into them.  
They were a bit baggy but better than nothing.  
"I think we should leave the top off so it doesn't irritate the injury."  
I nodded, the bandage covered my breasts, and wrapped around my right shoulder. I was covered enough.  
I coughed for a second, causing the pain to course through me again. The medic pressed the oxygen mask over my face again.  
"We need to get you to a hospital soon." He said, giving me a pointed look and I nodded.

He opened the door and I climbed out, I left my oxygen mask and walked over to where Sam was sitting on a gurney, his face was pinched in pain, but he hid it well.  
Sam and Sarge were with him.  
And Wordy and Spike ambushed me.  
"Hey." I said, my voice shaky, and quiet.  
"How bad is it?" Spike asked, eyeing me closely.  
"It's nothing." I replied. They followed me as I approached Sam, Sarge and Ed, and Sarge asked the medic the same thing Spike had.  
"It's not bad..." I protested, The medic sighed,  
"They're second degree burns, they start from in between her breasts and up over her right shoulder." He reported.  
"You call that nothing?" Ed asked, stonily.  
I swallowed, but didn't say anything about the matter.  
"How are you?" I asked, Sam.  
Sam nodded, "I'm good."  
Wordy shook his head, "You two are hopeless."  
Sam's medic answered this time,  
"He also has second degree burns on his back and right shoulder blade, but the medic said he should be alright." Sarge said.  
"He was with you?" Ed asked, quietly, and I nodded cautiously.  
I coughed again, before he could say anything.  
"Julianna…" The medic said, and he reached around me and pressed the oxygen back over my mouth.  
"Go." Ed said, "You need to get treated at the hospital, you look horrible." He turned to Sam, "And you don't look any better."  
"Thanks." I rasped, sarcastically and Sam nodded. Ed smiled down at me and Wordy helped me over to the ambulance with his hand on the small of my back to help support me. He and the medic helped me back into the ambulance with the medics once more. I lay down and closed my eyes, as they covered my face again with the mask. Then, I faded into a new, more comfortable darkness.

**_Okay, just to make sure you all know, I do NOT in any way believe or support what I wrote as Steve's opinion on women. He just needed to take an unstable state of mind, and that seemed a good path to take so… _**

**_Anyways, hope you're enjoying so far, please review & rate, and let me know what you think…It means a lot! _**

**_-RMNicki-_**  
**_~*~*~_**


	7. Confrontations

_**Disclaimer:  
I don't own Flashpoint or any of its Characters, but 'I Never Imagined Myself Here' is my work and should not be used without my permission, thank you!**__  
~*~*~_

_Review of Last Chapter:  
"Go." Ed said, "You need to get treated at the hospital, you look horrible." He turned to Sam, "And you don't look any better." "Thanks." I rasped, sarcastically and Sam nodded. Ed smiled down at me and Wordy helped me over to the ambulance with his hand on the small of my back to help support me. He and the medic helped me back into the ambulance with the medics once more. I lay down and closed my eyes, as they covered my face again with the mask. Then, I faded into a new, more comfortable darkness.  
~*~*~_

**The Team  
** "Greg…" Ed said. Sarge sighed, knowing that the confrontation was gonna come sooner or later.  
"Yeah, Eddie."  
"You knew he was with her…"  
"I did."  
Ed ran his hands over his face,  
"Greg…"  
"Would you prefer I kick one of them off?" Sarge asked, seriously.  
"I'm serious, right now, if you tell me that you would rather I take one of them from the team; tell me and it'll be done tomorrow morning."  
Ed came up short, it had been easier to confront Greg than to make the decision and he knew by the look on Greg's face that those were in his intentions exactly.

"You see my dilemma." Greg stated quietly, and Ed nodded, exasperated.  
"You can't fix everyone's problems, Greg."  
"Eddie…Sam and Jules deserve to be here. You know that, I know that. They are some of the best officers I have ever known and had the honor to serve with in my life. And, I personally think that if they weren't on Team One, the city of Toronto would be in just as much danger as they would be having Sam and Jules _together_ on the same team."

His statement brought Ed up short…again, and Ed stumbled for words for a few seconds,  
"But what about you, Greg? If Toth finds out about this-"  
"If that happens…it happens. It's not like I can do this job forever, Eddie. And whether it's because Toth finds out or because of retirement, I'll leave sooner or later."

"When did you find out?" Ed asked, changing subjects.  
Greg sighed, "About 2 months ago." Greg could see that Ed was shocked by the extensive amount of time,  
"_2 months." _  
"Yes."  
"And you were just…okay with it?" Ed asked sarcastically.  
"No…I chewed them both out when I found out, and with fair reason."  
"And what now?"  
"Well, what _I_ do about everything is up to me, but what you do…is up to you."  
The statement rang true in Ed's head. Because, now Sarge wasn't the only one that knew about Sam and Jules's relationship, and if this all went to hell…  
"We're in this as a team." Ed said, shocking even himself, but yet…he didn't feel any regret.

...  
"Sergeant Parker!" Greg heard his title being called by one of the forensics officers.  
"Yes?" He asked, turning.

"We have reason to believe that the cause of the fire was arson, and…this, was found upstairs. It wasn't a flashover that happened in the bedroom. It was an explosion."  
Spike ran over from the side, and the forensics officer handed the bomb tech the small contraption,  
"It's a homemade bomb." Spike said turning the thing over in his fingers.  
"Yes." A young female profiler said walking forward, "It was the only one in the house, so whoever did this had every intention of killing your two team members, the burning house was just collateral damage to him. Based off his hasty retreat and the messy set-up of the whole thing…we think that it was brought on by a fit of rage."  
"And-" The profiler continued,  
"And?" Wordy asked in disbelief, the profiler gave a sad smile,  
"We found an assortment of cameras set up throughout the house. They would have been practically invisible, but the change in the burning patterns around them was what alerted the firemen."  
"Thank you." Sarge said running his hand over his head.

"Team One of the SRU?" A Unie asked, walking up.  
_More?_  
"Yes?" Sarge asked.  
"A black audi was just reported stolen about 10 minutes ago-" Sarge looked at him with a look of confusion,  
"You're paramedic, _Steve's_ home is just across the street. We have a license plate #, and a possible on-the-move location, we already have a pursuit happening."  
"How far is this bastard willing to go!?" Wordy asked, shocked. They'd all had a feeling that Steve was involved, but the turn that the whole situation had just taken had been intense, and taken them all by surprise.

-Car theft

-Arson

-Invasion of privacy

-Assault with deadly intent

-Assault with deadly weapon

-Stalking

Not to mention his mental instability and distorted perception.

If they were able to catch Steve…they all knew…he would be going away for a _long_ time with these charges.  
"Thank you officer." Ed said. "Should we go to the barn and get suited up or go to the hospital?" Ed asked, turning to Greg.  
"Let's go to the barn and wait this thing out, that way if they need out help, we'll be available. Then, we'll go see Sam and Jules…hopefully with good news."

~*~*~  
_Jules_

I couldn't help laying in the hospital bed, staring out the window at the rainfall.  
"Jules…" Sam sighed, walking in, behind me.  
I turned and sat up, gasping at the pain for a second, before meeting his gaze again.  
"They let you out of your room?" Jules asked.  
Sam smiled slightly, "They don't know that I'm here, but I don't think it will take them too long to figure it out."  
The air in the atmosphere changed for a moment, and Sam eyes ran up and down my body in concern.  
"Are you alright?" He asked.  
"My burns aren't any worse than yours." I replied lightly.  
"That's not what I meant, and you know it." He replied, shutting the door and walking over to where I was sitting on my assigned hospital bed.

I sighed, as sorrow lanced it's way through my heart yet again,  
"My house and everything I owned, just burned down, Sam…"  
Sam didn't say a word as he leaned against the empty bed across from me, urging me to go on.  
Tears rolled reluctantly down my cheeks,  
"Everything I own, my clothing, my car, my pictures, memories. They're all gone, just like that."  
"Not necessarily." Sam said softly, "It didn't completely burn down. There's some significant damage, but some things will be able to be rescued, and once insurance comes through, they can begin to rebuild, and try to fix the things that _were_ damaged."  
I slid from my spot on the bed and walked over to him, and without saying a word he opened his arms to me. I buried my face in his unscathed chest, and listened to the steady beat of his heart.  
I wished he could hold me tighter but knew he wouldn't for fear of hurting me, and I didn't want to agitate his injuries either.  
"It was Steve, wasn't it?" I asked, suddenly.  
Sam was silent for a few seconds, I she looked up at him confused,  
"Sam?" Sam's eyes were wide eyed, "Do you have your phone on you?" He asked suddenly. I was confused, but didn't as questions as I handed him my phone from where it had been sitting on the bedside table.

~*~*~  
**Sam **_&_** Jules**  
Sam punched in the familiar numbers for Sarge's phone,  
_Jules? Everything alright?_ Sarge asked.  
"Sarge, it's Sam. When we were in her bedroom, something was thrown in when we were asleep that released an anesthesia like gas into the air to knock us out while…we burned."

Sarge sighed,  
_So it _was_ Steve, that should be evidence enough once they find it. Alright, thanks, Sam. We already have a warrant out for his arrest…_  
Sarge gave a Sam a run down of their current situation and for the first time since the whole thing had gone down, Sam smiled.

Jules looked at him confused as he hung up.  
"What is it?" She rasped.  
"Steve stole a car from a neighbor so he could set this whole thing up and they caught him attempting to cross the border. He's in questioning right now, and he's…not talking as much as they'd like, but they _do_ have enough to put him away for at least 10 years. But with the information that we just gave them, it should be evidence enough for them to put him away for a long while."  
Tears filled Jules's eyes, and Sam pulled her towards him again.  
"I want to kill the bastard." He said, running his fingers over the bruises on Jules's exposed skin,  
"As if the bruises weren't bad enough."

"I'm alright, Sam." She murmured. "Even if he hadn't been locked away….I would have killed him."  
Sam smiled as her fiery streak made an appearance, and he was relieved to see that even though Steve had damaged her home, her possessions and memories, he hadn't damaged the real Jules he knew had always been there.  
"I know. Believe me, I know."  
And he knew…in time, Jules was going to come out on top.

_The End._

_**I hope you guys enjoyed (;**_

_**Please rate and review!  
Sorry for any punctuation or grammatical errors, I didn't really have much time to edit!  
~*~*~**_


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